This year’s campaign is to support a refit of the Northern Arms Apartment complex, Independent living housing with supports provided by Canadian Mental Health Association.

Christian churches in Edmonton are once again joining forces at Christmas to assist those at risk of homelessness through the annual No Room in the Inn (NRII) campaign. This year NRII has chosen to support the Edmonton Region of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA).

CMHA is a non-profit charitable organization that receives funding through the United Way and other government programs. In Edmonton, the CMHA has seven properties with a total of 146 independent living units. Presently, there is a wait-list and an influx of applications.

The property receiving support through our 2017 NRII Campaign will be the Northern Arms apartment complex (in the Queen Mary park neighbourhood) which CMHA purchased in August 2015. Although a structural assessment deemed the building had good bones, renovations are still necessary to replace ALL the windows and balcony doors. Exterior siding, painting, carpet in common areas will also be updated. In individual units, renovations are also needed to update flooring, appliances, and window coverings. As outlined in this year’s NRII pamphlet, tenants of CMHA’s affordable long-term housing can readily access all the services provided by CMHA-Edmonton including a supportive landlord who can assist them when their mental health is not well.

How to donate:
1) Through your church – make a cheque payable to your church and enter “No Room in the Inn” in the memo line. Drop the cheque in the church collection or mail it to your church. The church will then forward donations to CMHA for the Northern Arms Apartment complex.
2) Making a cheque payable directly to ‘Canadian Mental Health Association – Edmonton Region,” enter “No Room in the Inn” in the memo line and mail it to:
CMHA; #300, 10010 – 105 Street NW
Edmonton, AB T5J 1C4

This Christmas, please prayerfully consider being a blessing to the Canadian Mental Health Association – Edmonton Region’s Northern Arms complex and its mission through the No Room in the Inn campaign.

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November was a very exciting month on the housing front; punctuated by numerous events, workshops and announcements. Here’s a little of what we saw, heard and did together this month!

We heard excitement around the updated plan here in Edmonton, with numerous front line providers welcoming efforts to fine-tune work on the three fronts of ending chronic homelessness, preventing future homelessness, and better integration and coordination of services.

We heard the city of Edmonton formally recognize November 22 as Housing Day in our city, in line with National Housing Day efforts across the country.

We heard MLA David Shepherd speak to efforts by the Province to ease restrictions for those seeking help affording a home. Families owning a vehicle or having a few assets to their name would often find themselves unable to qualify for assistance unless they liquidated these assets and spend what little extra they have in the bank. New changes will make vehicles exempt, and allow for up to $25,000 in assets.

We heard Housing formally recognized and verbally expressed as a human right by the Federal Government.

We heard the formal announcement of a National Housing Strategy by the Prime Minister, and by Minster Amarjheet Sohi here in Edmonton. As Jay Freeman noted, “43 years after the National Housing Act, we finally have a National Housing Strategy!” We will unpack this strategy more in the next few months, but a few initial highlights are as follows:

A stronger portable housing benefit to take root in 2020; providing rent assistance to low income families.

We will see federal energy and dollars moving into the renovation and creation of new affordable housing across the country.

There will also be new funding agreements created with Housing Coops to replace those set to expire.

We heard the city’s desire to integrate affordable housing all across the city; building inclusive, complete, diverse communities with a range of housing choices. We also heard the need to engage the private sector in this effort, as they are critical partners that currently provide housing that is affordable for 80% of Edmontonians.

And of course, CRIHI hosted two major events ourselves: our [What’s your Wisdom on Affordable Housing?] workshop at West Edmonton Baptist Church on November 18, and our Plenary gathering on November 28 at Beulah Alliance. We will have more detailed reports on these events in our January issue of the Neighbourly.

So much to be thankful for in this season! New projects are being announced and are finding homes in Edmonton communities, and there is a spirit of welcome growing in many quarters of the city. Let’s continue to bathe our city in prayer for the future, that the work we are all doing together may bear rich fruit!

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One key way we at the Interfaith Housing Initiative engage is by hosting workshops. What we do at these workshops will depend on what kinds of questions or needs are coming forward.

Here are a few sample questions that our workshops could help explore answers to:

What is being done across the city to help low-income neighbours afford a safe and quality home?

What role can our community play in the work of addressing homelessness?

What can we do to better respond to needs in our local community?

What are other faith communities doing?

How can we participate in local conversations on housing in our neighbourhoods?

Types of Workshops we can help plan:

Regional Workshops – we could help you engage with other faith communities, community leagues, neighbours and other local partners in your corner of the city.

Providing solid information on the current need for Housing help and supports, and hosting a conversation between diverse voices around a healthy community response to new neighbours and new units of affordable housing. Example: What’s Your Wisdom on Affordable Housing?

We could develop a workshop to encourage collective action by local faith communities, and/or invite local partners to speak to community needs.

Local Neighbourhood Workshops enabling healthy housing conversation between faith communities, the local community league(s), and local businesses.

Equipping and supporting people of faith for constructive engagement in upcoming conversations on affordable housing in their community.

Connecting directly as a support to healthy process in a local housing conversation.

Providing Education on needs and challenges, as well as identifying opportunities for volunteering, collaboration and connection.

Story-telling, and capacity-building to get your community thinking about what is possible.

Workshops for Individual Faith Communities

Helping the local congregation consider what meaningful engagement looks like in their local context. We could invite local social workers or community leaders to speak to issues and opportunities nearby.

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Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they will be called Children of God.”
~ Jesus ~

As you know, the Interfaith Housing Initiative is a gathering of faith communities from around Edmonton working together to address homelessness in our city. We work together, knowing that we may believe very different things about the nature of God, the world, ourselves, and our purpose… but we all believe in the need to love our neighbour, and to care for our neighbour. On this common ground, people of many faiths here in Edmonton are gathered to confront the need for quality decent and affordable homes for our neighbours.

In 2004, I was ordained as a Pastor in the Christian Reformed Church. That makes me a Calvinist who values God’s sovereignty over creation and human history. I see the fingerprints of the Holy Spirit on many interactions and movements around our city: at City Council, on building sites, in committee work, and in conversations in the local neighbourhood; and I follow the call of Jesus as King, Savior and Redeemer of our world. And yes, I actually enjoy preaching on the Canons of Dort!

I continue to be profoundly grateful for the opportunity to serve as Housing Ambassador for the Interfaith community gathered here in common cause. In my almost two years serving here, I have come to realize the power of what we are about: that in a time of rising fear and suspicion between peoples and faiths, our continuing decision to work together on this common ground is a profound act of peacemaking.

Serving with each other builds understanding and relationship. It creates a sense of community and helps us place our fears and questions in a healthier frame. At the end of it all, there will continue to be many things we disagree on; but our shared role in shaping a just and compassionate society will not be one of them.

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Elizabeth and Richard’s [Welcome Home] participant, Dustin has struggled for many years with depression and an addiction to alcohol. When they first started meeting together, he struggled to keep their appointments, wondering if his volunteers were going to judge him because of his addiction. It was hard for him to believe that they really enjoyed his company, and he was often very quiet and withdrawn.

After many months, Dustin began to attend some of the program functions with Elizabeth and Richard, and found that he really enjoyed meeting others from Welcome Home. He felt accepted for who he was, which helped him to develop more self-confidence.

Recently, Dustin took a big step, and went into detox. As is often the case for those with a serious addiction, he had a relapse soon after getting home. However, instead of feeling ashamed and spiraling into depression, he called Elizabeth, and let her know. His willingness to share this part of his journey with his volunteers demonstrates the amazing level of trust that they have built together. Elizabeth and Richard reassured Dustin that they were still there for him, and encouraged him to try again when he felt ready.

Since that relapse, Dustin has applied to a longer-term treatment program, which will help him to address both his addiction and his mental illness. He continues to look forward to the next Welcome Home social, and knows that he has found true friends to journey with him through the many ups and downs of his recovery.

Volunteer with Welcome Home!

One of the biggest reasons people struggle or fail as they come out of homelessness into housing is loneliness. Welcome Home assembles and trains a small team of volunteers to walk with someone as a friend. This is a one-year commitment to go for coffee, go bowling, take long walks, to encourage and pray for a fellow human being on a tough stretch of the road. ​To find out more information about volunteering contact the Welcome Home Coordinator at 780-378-2544.https://www.cssalberta.ca/Our-Ministries/Volunteer-Mentoring-Support

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Working together with a diverse group of people tends to be tricky under the best of circumstances. After all, we each come with our different expectations, ways of being, backstories, ideas and passions. But imagine how tricky it can be working across diverse organizations! Even if we’re all working in the same general direction, a lack of good communication and coordination of efforts can sink the work; or at very least cause significant frustration and a waste of precious time and resources.

A Place to Call Home: Edmonton’s Updated Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness:
Update Feature: Part 3 of 3

Stronger collaboration between organizations responding to homelessness and extreme poverty has been a front-line emphasis for some time now, and an amazing amount of ground has been covered. The chart below illustrates the gradual shift in movement the last years have seen toward better communication and coordination.

Jarrod Bayne, the Chief Strategy officer from Homeward Trust Edmonton (HTE) makes the following observations about how this work has progressed:

Before the Ten-year Plan, waitlists to get into housing were the norm. With the implementation of the Plan and of Housing First, prioritization based on need (and standardized assessment tools) became the approach for HF programs.

Housing First agencies adopted a “No Wrong Door” approach, whereby a person presenting at any agency could expect to be screened and prioritized for service – they didn’t have to be referred elsewhere and repeat their story in other words.

No Wrong Door as an approach had a lot of strengths and consistency, but weaknesses as well. Agencies were prioritizing largely individually, and it was more challenging to optimize as a sector. A person could also have a service relationship with multiple agencies, complicating matters.

Homeward Trust established some central capacity for “Coordinated Access” to services funded under the Plan. Given that Homeward Trust administered the shared database and provided other capacity for the sector as a whole (such as landlord relations, rental assistance, and training), it made most sense to locate this function within HTE.

Several opportunities locally served as “proof of concept” for Coordinated Access as a shared practice. One example is our efforts through Housing First to address crisis levels of families in hotels.

Through our participation in the 20,000 Homes Campaign, the homeless-serving sector took the opportunity not only to increase our reach in identifying people experiencing homelessness, but also to combine and consolidate prioritization lists into a single shared list.

Building on international leading practice, HTE and our partners in Edmonton are now active participants in the “Built for Zero” initiative. This initiative emphasizes a real-time, shared “By Name List” as the cornerstone of community-wide efforts to end homelessness. This approach not only builds on the Coordinated Access capacity we have established locally, but also broadens the potential to directly involve multiple partners and providers in “working the list”. A shared community-wide list in real time gives us tremendous ability to react to trends, to learn more about how people move in and out of homelessness, and to show the impact of our collective efforts.

How does the new Plan update talk about the next stage of the journey? Here’s the basics:

Unpacking the Third Goal:Develop an Integrated Services Response

Engaging people with lived experience.
If you want to do a good job on anything, you want to be able to see what you’re doing from many angles. Frontline staff, along with participants in a program provide critical input to ensure providers are getting it right; with quality shelter, and in delivering housing and support services. The plan says “the need for specific engagement with key subpopulations, including youth and indigenous people will continue to be assessed and expanded to other groups where needed.”

Continued partnership on access and information-sharing.
Building on the work done already, specific goals are set to bridge the significant gaps that remain. The ‘no wrong door’ policy has helped to reduce the run-around and frustration people experience when trying to find help and support with housing. But there is still work to do on making sure people are able to be assessed and referred to the most appropriate kinds of help, and of course trying to ensure the right help will be available to meet the needs.

The System Planner Organization
With so many organizations and partners engaged together in the work across Edmonton, it can be difficult to gauge the health and needs of the larger picture. Homeward Trust Edmonton is currently positioned and resourced to be the system planner. Much of the work they do is targeted to streamlining the communication and information gathered from the many partner organizations in order to understand and research the larger trends. This helps inform where there are shortfalls and gaps in the work being done, and provides critical evidence to inform decisions as to where scarce resources are best spent.

The Accountability Framework
How will we ensure the work stays on track? Who will help resolve issues, sort out conflicts, and discuss the tough questions? An accountability framework will be developed by 2018 that will “identify resource and funding coordination processes, roles and accountabilities to support plan strategies.” This framework will (most likely) involve setting a table, gathering appropriate partners, and together formulating tools and structures so the group is able to understand and respond effectively to issues and challenges that emerge.

“When I talk to my indigenous neighbours, they express their concern that everybody seems to be watching their house.”

Fear and suspicion over concerns related to race, class or culture often show up in our communities, even if they are consciously unwanted and rejected in hearts and minds. What can be done to overcome this unwelcome undercurrent at play in our communities? How can we find our way to healthy relationships with local neighbours, especially when there are barriers between us?

CRIHI recently had the opportunity to visit End Poverty Edmonton’s Indigenous Circle to seek their wisdom and ideas on how people can pursue practices of reconciliation in their local neighbourhoods.

Here were some of their insights and observations:
“It takes work… give and take from both.” As with all relationships, it can be complicated. Efforts to connect may not always go smoothly. It may require some commitment on both sides to say this is important and to give it the time and attention it needs.

There are some communities that are thriving already on this front! One member of the circle shared her experience of a great relationship with her neighbours. They talk over the fence; shovel each other’s walks (even racing to see who gets there first); weed each other’s gardens and share vegetables; and keep an eye on each other’s places when someone goes away. People know and support each other.

But others had a very different experience… of local neighbours being cold and unkind. Another shared the experience of being followed around in a store.

What can people do to build relationship with local neighbours?

When you are going into a new community, “look for kind people!”

“Become Colour-brave! Start a conversation and hear my story. See me as a Cree man, who has been through a lot and struggled… And let me hear your story of your life and your struggle.”

“Say Sorry!” Share your regrets at what has happened in the past and what another has faced. Sharing tears can be very healing.

Keep extending the welcome! Continue to reach out with an open hand. Treat people with kindness and respect.

Walk with each other and work together as Allies! Do things together. Go with each other to talk to a neighbour or to help someone. If just one person goes, it will be heard differently than if we go together.

And of course, respect each other as equals. Share food. Go for Coffee.

Reconciliation won’t always happen the same way or to the same degree between people, but even small steps in the right direction move us forward.

By Mike Van Boom, CRIHI Housing Ambassador

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The City of Edmonton is considering a guideline/target of 10% affordable housing in neighbourhoods all across our city. What might that look like in your neighbourhood? What questions or concerns do you have? What ideas do you have? What do you think is a healthy response to new neighbours and new units of affordable housing? What’s your wisdom on affordable housing?

This workshop gives communities in Edmonton’s West End a chance to start the conversation early; before new projects or proposals come to the table. In this workshop we will hear:
1. A presentation on the types of Affordable Housing needed.
2. A non-profit developer who consults, builds and manages units of affordable housing.
3. A story from a person who has needed help affording a home.
…and then we will have a chance to talk about it with each other as neighbours.

Neighbourhoods invited for this are those west of 170th over the Henday, South of Stony Plain, and North of the River. Direct invitations have been extended to all local community leagues, faith communities, and home owner associations. But this workshop is open to any interested neighbour.

Here’s the details!

Refreshments and Childcare are provided. This is a workshop, not a drop-in information event, so please plan to join us starting at 1:00 and stay for the conversation.